Crop improvement using peptide regulators of growth and N demand signalling

该项目旨在在不降低作物产量的情况下减少对氮肥的依赖。全球粮食安全依赖于使用高产谷物品种和氮肥。自1950年以来，化肥使用量增加了20倍，但这种使用的产量效益正在下降。农作物只吸收了施用的肥料的30 - 50%，而未使用的氮会造成环境破坏，减轻这种破坏的成本很高。该项目的新技术平台旨在开发具有更广阔根系的新作物，更有效地利用施用的氮肥，以及新的豆类品种，以生态可持续的方式共生固定更多的氮。

This project aims to reduce reliance on nitrogen fertilisers without reducing crop yield. Global food security relies on using high-yielding grain varieties and nitrogen-based fertilisers. Since 1950, fertiliser use has increased 20-fold but the yield benefits of this use are declining. Crops only absorb 30–50 per cent of the applied fertiliser and the unused nitrogen causes environmental damage which is costly to mitigate. The novel technology platform of the project aims to develop new crops with more expansive root systems that use applied nitrogen fertiliser more efficiently and new legume varieties that symbiotically fix more nitrogen in an ecologically-sustainable way.